Happy Hour: Make it a Mojito

With its crisp, refreshing flavors of mint, lime, and rum, the mojito may be the ultimate warm-weather cocktail—which is an appealing thought since it’s been cold and raining for nearly three weeks straight here in New York. But as I learned on a recent trip to Malin+Goetz’s new Upper West Side storefront, it’s summer year-round inside the charming 400-square-foot space, where the shelves are stocked with the beauty duo’s own brand of mojitos: the giftable, bath-and-body kind. “We wanted to re-create [the cocktail’s] feeling of warmth and ease in a way that was truly sophisticated,” says Mathew Malin, who, along with company cofounder Andrew Goetz, first recognized the “mood-lifting” potential of the fragrant drink during a lazy weekend in Tulum. To capture its essence, each individual ingredient makes a star turn in the form of fresh Lime-scented hand washes, invigorating Peppermint soap bars, and one truly addictive Rum Tonic perfume (hints of “leather, amber, milk, and plum,” explains Goetz, balance its soft buttery-rum accord). Mixology—in the form of complementary notes, meant to mingle effortlessly with one another—comes into the picture, too. I experiment with a set of Mojito and Dark Rum candles: In my sunny new East Village apartment, they smell just as divine when burned together as they do separately. But it’s not until after Malin and Goetz have whipped up a batch of their famous 10 Cane mojitos on the spot (the recipe, which I promptly demanded, is below) that they unveil their latest innovation: Created in partnership with Moët Hennessy’s premium 10 Cane Rum, their wax-free, limited-edition Mojito lip balm contains a unique “fatty-acid-absorption technology” that relieves parched lips instantly—and with its subtle natural lime and mint extracts, it promises to conjure balmy afternoons and lush Caribbean landscapes on an hourly basis.